


A Chaotic Night

by StariWolfe



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, General Chaos, Humor, Romance, adventures of the dumbass crew, living world season 4 episode 6 spoilers, not all of the pairings are in yet but i promise i will get to them, war eternal spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-07-12
Packaged: 2020-04-06 20:17:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19069912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StariWolfe/pseuds/StariWolfe
Summary: The commander and her guildmates get invited to a grand celebration in light of recent victories. Knowing the chaotic nature of her friends and certain unresolved romances between them, this should be an interesting night.





	1. The Start of the Night

**Author's Note:**

> Wooo my first multi chapter story! At least, my first one that isn't dependent on when actual events happen. Me and my friends had this idea of 'what if our characters got invited to a party and it was just a bunch of chaos?' So I absolutely had to write it. Not all of the pairings are evident in the first chapter, but I promise I'll be getting to them! It's also gonna be more chaotic the further it goes on, so while it's a lot of romance, there will, in fact, be chaos. Enjoy!

“I still don’t understand why I can’t have my hammer. I’m sure no one would mind, commander!”

“Sorry, Lemon. It’s a very formal event, so weapons are mostly a no-go. That’s why I’m using ornamental swords tonight.”

“And they don’t make ornamental hammers?”

“Unfortunately not.”

This was not the first time this conversation had happened tonight; Vesper figured it was at least the fourth time they’d talked about this. She glanced back at Nocte and Luna, following the aforementioned two closely. From the looks on their faces they were getting a little tired of the conversation, too. The four were walking on the streets of Divinity’s Reach, heading towards the castle garden. In light of recent victories, Queen Jennah had decided to throw a celebratory ball, and naturally, the commander and a few of her close friends had been invited. The girls were on their way to meet their respective escorts for the evening. Altair, as Vesper’s boyfriend, would be escorting the commander, while Kynedyr would be escorting Lemon, Braham would be with Nocte, and Canach with Luna. Knowing the chaotic nature of her friends (and herself), Vesper figured the evening would be interesting if nothing else.

“This can’t be over soon enough. I hate wearing dresses.” Luna hated wearing anything other than her thief clothing, which Vesper agreed with wholeheartedly. Both of them much preferred clothes allowing easy movement over the outfits they were wearing. But seeing the men’s reactions would be worth it, in Vesper’s opinion.

“I agree. I hate showing this much skin.” Nocte was used to long clothes that covered nearly all of her, save a bit around her neck. But for tonight, Sapphire had made the norn a set of luminescent light armor to wear. And while she looked absolutely radiant, she was highly self conscious about how different it was, which Vesper understood. She was currently wearing phoenix armor, and it showed a bit more than she’d like as well.

“All of you look incredible, it’ll be fine. Plus, think about the boys’ reaction. It’ll be great!” Vesper tried to cheer up the two, but to little avail. Though she did see their cheeks gain some color at the mention of the men.

“I agree! Besides, wearing nice clothes is fun once in a while!” Lemon, contrary to the other three, was incredibly happy about wearing fancy clothes. She was almost skipping down the pavement, happy as a clam. Vesper figured she could learn a thing or two from Lemon’s optimism.

“Exactly. Let’s keep going, mates! We aren’t too far now.” Vesper let Luna and Lemon walk ahead a bit, while she hung back with Nocte. When the two sylvari were out of earshot, the commander turned to her friend. “Hey, are you sure you’re alright? I brought along some extra clothes if you’re too uncomfortable with that.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I’ll be fine. It’s just...unnerving. Especially if what you told me about Braham is true.” Nocte had told her that after he drunkenly asked her out, he’d completely forgotten what he’d said after he woke up.

“Nocte, you look radiant. You’re easily the most beautiful out of the four of us.” Nocte looked away quickly while Vesper smirked at her small victory. Nocte was hard to fluster, but when the commander learned how easily embarrassed she was by genuine comments like that, it started happening a lot more often. “Besides, I wasn’t lying. I’m nothing if not observant.”

“I hate that you’re right. But let’s change subjects; we’re here.”

Vesper looked ahead of her and, sure enough, the party of four had made it to the entrance of the gardens. Even from where she was, she could hear the bustle of the crowd and the din of the music. People were coming and going out of the entrance, and Vesper heard someone announcing all of the more renowned guests as they walked in.

It seemed like the party was in full swing. The commander hoped they had some good ale or other drinks; she always got anxious at events like this. She was looking forward to the dancing, though. She looked around the area; the men were supposed to meet them near here so they’d be together when they walked in. Three out of the four of them were sylvari, so she looked for some glowing figures…Ah-hah! There they were, standing a small bit away from the entrance. From what Vesper could tell, they hadn’t noticed them yet. This would be a great opportunity to make a grand entrance. She motioned to the others to stay put for a moment as she stealthed herself, walking quietly over to the men, sneaking up behind Altair. As quickly as she could, she removed her stealth and covered his eyes, hearing a small gasp of surprise.

“Guess who.” She felt the corners of his mouth turn upwards, probably getting ready to make a smart-ass remark.

“It’s Joko, isn’t it? It’s got to be Joko.” She stifled a laugh; she was so glad he went along with her stupid shit. It made their relationship incredibly fun.

“Oh you’ve gotta be Joko-ing me.” She felt him grimace at the pun. “C’mon, it’s not that hard to guess!”

“Hmm...Obviously it’s Taimi.”

“I think I’m a bit too tall for that, as strange as it feels to say that.” Altair was always poking fun at her height. “You’re at two strikes mate, one more and you owe me a drink.”

Altair made a show of stroking his chin, pretending to have trouble with his guess. Finally, he snapped his fingers and replied.

“Is it my beautiful guild leader? That’d be the best news of the night.”

“Damn, I was really hoping for that drink.” She removed her hands from his eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him from behind. He looked back at her, smiling wide.

“I mean, I’d much prefer you over Joko.” He looked back at her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. He noticed the other women walking over, and turned to the others. “Looks like our escorts are here, lads.”

The others noticed the ladies walking up, and quickly straightened out their various tuxedos and vests. Vesper felt a surge of satisfaction when she saw the look on Braham’s face when he saw Nocte. This boy had it bad. The reaction of Kyn was as expected; once he saw Lemon, he immediately started fawning over her and commenting on how beautiful she was. Canach’s reaction was much more subtle, but she didn’t miss how his eyes lit up at Luna. Tonight was going to be quite interesting, indeed.

Speaking of the men’s reactions, Altair hadn’t seen her outfit yet. She removed her arms from his neck and stepped back a bit, allowing him to get a decent look at what she was wearing. She had a very hard time not breaking into a huge grin, as he nearly stumbled back a bit. He covered his cheeks with his hands, trying to hide how furiously he was blushing. It didn’t work.

“Seems like you like my outfit. Sapphire worked hard on it, so make sure to compliment her on her handiwork!”

“I will, but...by the Pale Mother, Vess, you look incredible. I’m a lucky man.”

“I’m a lucky woman. Anyway, shall we head in? We’re fashionably late now, you know.”

“Indeed.” He offered his arm to her, which she gladly took. “Let’s move. I want to see everyone, and I’m interested in the dancing.”

The party headed into the gardens, and waited for the announcer to call their names. The group split ways, Braham headed towards the food with Nocte close behind, Luna and Canach went to who knows where to do gods know what, and Kynedyr immediately dragged Lemon out to the dance floor.

Vesper and Altair moved to an area of the garden where they could easily see passerby to watch the crowds go by. Altair leaned against a pillar with Vesper’s back against his chest, his arms around her waist. As people went by, the two commented on what they were wearing or other things they noticed.

“Vess, do you see that noble with the-”

“That eyesore of a coat? Yes, I do. Who on Tyria thinks that a coat like that is a good idea?” The nobleman in question was wearing a coat with way too many colors and patterns on it.

“I agree. By the way, did I mention how absolutely stunning you look?” He said, leaning his head on her shoulder, mouth close to her ear.

“You didn’t use that specific word, but yes you did. But I certainly don’t mind hearing it, more. You don’t look too bad yourself.” Altair was wearing a tuxedo of deep blue which matched his eyes. He looked very sharp, and Vesper felt a surge of affection for her partner. She was incredibly happy that they were together.

“Why, thank you. I’d say we make a pretty nice sight tonight.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek and squeezed her waist gently. Vesper let out a contented sigh and leaned herself back against his chest. She let her eyes fall shut, taking in the music and feeling Altair’s rhythmic breathing. Maybe this night would be rather relaxing…

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you two lovebirds cuddling in public.”

The two jumped, not expecting anyone to find them. They looked to their left and saw Trahearne standing there, watching the two with a raised eyebrow and a hand on his chin. He was dressed to the nines in a semi formal vest, covering most of his wilted body parts. The only bit of blight that could be seen was on his face, which was slightly more brown and his left eye didn’t shine as brightly as his right. Vesper took a few deep breaths before speaking.

“Good lord, man, you nearly scared the hell out of us!” She finally got her heartbeat under control as Trahearne was clearly trying not to laugh. “I didn’t even know you were here tonight. I’m assuming you’re here since you’re the former Pact Marshal?”

“Yes, basically. That and my work with Dragon’s Watch and Jokers and Rogues led to an invitation.” He eyed the two, who hadn’t stopped cuddling even when they were startled. “I came over here when I noticed you two, but it seems I’ve interrupted something.” His eyes were shining. He’d gotten a bit more playful in his mannerisms after he stepped down from the Marshal position, since he didn’t have to keep up appearances as much. Vesper thought that Altair was being a bad influence on the Firstborn.

“We can chat for a moment if you’d like, but I’m going to keep holding the commander, just so you know.” Altair looked at him with a smirk. Trahearne gave a hearty laugh, assuring the Valiant that it was perfectly fine. The three conversed for a bit, talking about various subjects. Trahearne hadn’t been at Dragonfall, so he wasn’t aware of all that it took to take down Kralkatorrik. The lovers caught him up, as well as updating him on how they got together, which he was overjoyed at. He admitted to thinking that the two of them would make a good couple when they’d worked together in the Orrian campaign, which made the two blush; apparently everyone had thought they’d be cute together long before they actually got together.

After a few minutes of conversation, Vesper looked around the party as Altair and Trahearne talked about a few sylvan subjects that she knew nothing about. She noticed her childhood friend Kori playing her harp for a few of the patrons. Vesper smiled; she loved Kori’s music, and the two often played and sung together. She felt like she should’ve brought her violin so she could’ve performed with the bard. She listened for a moment longer as Kori ended the song, and almost turned away when she noticed two men walk up to her friend. They struck up a conversation with her, and even from her position Vesper could tell that Kori was uncomfortable. She almost began to unwrap Altair’s arms from her waist when she had an idea, glancing at Trahearne from the corner of her eye. She knew her friend had feelings for the Firstborn, and as much as he tried, Trahearne was terrible at hiding his mutual attraction from people who weren’t Kori. The commander smiled internally.

This could prove interesting.

“Hey, Trahearne. I see Kori over there.” Interest flashed in the tall sylvari’s eyes as he turned towards where Vesper gestured. “Seems like she has some admirers. There’s a couple of guys talking to her, see? She seems a bit uncomfortable, though. Would you mind checking on her?” As quickly as she saw the interest in his eyes, his body language gave away the fact that he was slightly irritated at these men talking to Kori.

“I see. I’m sure they won't mind a friend of hers interrupting their conversation. I’ll make sure she’s fine, thank you for letting me know, Commander. I’ll find you both later.” With a bow to the two, he quickly made his way over to where Kori was.

“Vess, did you just do what I think you did?” Altair looked down at the woman in his arms quizzically. She put a finger to his lips and motioned towards Kori. The bard was very clearly uncomfortable now, and these two men seemed to be loving it. Trahearne moved beside her and threw an arm around her shoulders, making a great show of how happy he was to see her. Kori immediately relaxed, looking much more comfortable and confident around him. The Firstborn also made it known that he wouldn’t tolerate these two harassing her; he didn’t verbally say it, but his movements and eyes made it crystal clear. Begrudgingly, the two men backed off, leaving the bard and the sylvari alone. Kori said a word of thanks, and Altair and Vesper heard Trahearne offer to stay nearby for the evening, to prevent any more of that. She immediately accepted, and the two moved to another location. Soon the lovers heard Kori’s harp again, louder and more vibrant than it had been earlier. 

“Excellent. That worked even better than I thought it would.” She mentioned to Altair. She allowed herself a smile of victory; she knew Trahearne wouldn’t leave Kori to be harassed by two unruly folk.

“Indeed. Think something will happen between them soon?” Altair tilted his head in the direction of the music. Seems like Kori had changed tunes to a dancing song instead of a classical piece.

“Oh hell no. They’re almost as bad as Nocte and Braham. They’ll need a push or two to get them to actually make progress.” The two weren’t as oblivious as the two norn, but they’d still need some help.

“That’s fair.” Altair returned his gaze to her. “Anyway, what else would we like to do? As much as I love holding you, we can do that plenty back in our room. There’s dancing, food, music, probably a prank or two to find around here...” 

Vesper got her second idea for the night.

“We can do all of them, and also…” Altair raised his eyebrow. “...We could, theoretically, keep an eye on our friends, if you know what I’m saying.”

“Are you suggesting spying on our friends?”

“Naturally.”

“Oh hell yes. Who first?”

“I’m hungry, so let’s go chill by Nocte and Braham. Follow my lead…”


	2. Awkward Flirting

“So, uh, Kyn...how exactly am I supposed to flirt with Nocte again?”

“Make her feel special, Braham! She’s not used to compliments like that, it’ll make her so flustered!” 

“But...do we WANT her to be flustered? Nocte gets scary when she’s like that sometimes.”

“That may be true, but you said yourself that she’s beautiful like that!”

“I...okay, yeah. She is.”

Kynedyr let a smile of victory show. It seems he was finally getting through to his friend. The two had left their escorts alone at a banquet table for a moment to have a man-to-man talk. Mainly, Kynedyr was trying to talk Braham into making a move, so to speak. The norn still had no idea that he drunkenly told Nocte how he felt on the airship.

“So, are you going to let some other man woo her away from you?”

“What? No!” Braham himself was getting pretty flustered. He turned to back to the sylvari. “What about you? How are you going to tell Lemon how you feel?” Kynedyr had to look away briefly. He was a bit taken aback; he hadn’t expected Braham to bring that up.

“O-Oh, uh, I’m sure it’ll be fine! I’m a master at flirting! I’ll get through to her, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. That went so well last time.” Kynedyr hid a grimace. He knew the norn was right; Lemon didn’t understand flirting, poor girl. It felt like she thought he was trying to sell her something. 

“But anyway, why don’t we go back to our girls now? I’m sure they miss us. And I know you’re hungry. Just don’t wolf down all the food.” He took a moment to consider his words. “No pun intended, of course.”

“Y-Yeah. Right.”

 

“For the last time, Lemon, no you can’t have your hammer back yet.”

“But Nocte, I’m bored!”

“That’s all the more reason to not give it to you.” Nocte refused to meet the sylvari’s eyes. She would not fall victim to puppy dog eyes like Vesper.

“Can you just tell me where it is? I won’t go find it!” Lemon continued to plead with the ranger, who was trying to enjoy her ale. The sylvari was a dear friend of hers, but by the Spirits was she good at complaining. Especially when it involved her hammer, it seemed.

“Absolutely not. I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you. And I could throw you pretty damn far.” Nocte continued to stare into her drink. She would not give her the victory of looking in her eyes.

“Oh, fine. You’re no fun sometimes.” Lemon sighed in defeat and looked over to where the two men were. “So, what do you think they were talking about?”

“Probably their recent adventures. Things Braham has hunted, what Kyn has stolen recently, that kind of thing.” It wouldn’t surprise the ranger. Braham was always talking to her about his hunts, and Kyn took every possible chance to show off his latest treasures. It was horrible when he, Vesper, and Luna got competitive. Everyone in the guild would be missing something and they had to shake the three down to get back their possessions.

“I don’t think so, they look like they’re discussing something serious. Plus, Braham is pretty red.” The sylvari snapped her fingers. “Oh! I know! They’re talking about how pretty you are, Nocte!”

Nocte almost spat out her drink, looking at Lemon in confusion.

“Wait, what? Lemon, there’s no way they’re talking about that!” She turned her eyes to the table, leaning on her elbows. “I swear, I’m never gonna hear the end of this, between you and Vesper.”

“But you ARE pretty! Why don’t you believe us?” Lemon tilted her head in a perplexed fashion. “Your hair, your eyes, not to mention your mind. I don’t understand why you don’t take us seriously.” Nocte was surprised at that. It was rare that the revenant spoke so genuinely.

“I-well, I’ve had some...not great experiences with men, Lemon. Did I ever tell you about the guy who was my rival for the longest time? He constantly made fun of me, made me feel like I was hard to love. I’ve healed, but it never truly leaves. Plus, Balthazar telling me how pretty I was while bound in his chains was NOT a fun experience.” Nocte grimaced at the memory. When she was kidnapped after Vesper had been killed, Balthazar took every possible moment to torment the helpless norn. It was terrible.

“Oh, uh...I see. I’m sorry if I brought up a bad memory.” Lemon looked away guiltily. Nocte felt a twinge of regret. She hadn’t meant to pour all of that on the poor plant.

“You didn’t, it’s alright. I don’t mind being told that I’m pretty, but it’s hard for me to take seriously. Bad experiences do that.”

“You’re right. I know that feel.” She looked away for a moment. “When I was in the Mists-Oh! Here come Kynedyr and Braham.”

Nocte looked to where their escorts had walked off to, and sure enough, they were on their way back to the two women. The ranger wasn’t sure she liked the look on Kyn’s face, though Braham seemed a bit nervous. This could end one of two ways: highly entertaining or absolutely disastrous. The men made it back to the table, sitting beside their respective escorts.

“H-Hey Nocte! Enjoying the party so far?” Braham had a huge smile on his face, but he still seemed nervous. What was he doing?

“Uh...yes, I am. Braham, are you alright? You look like you’re in pain. Or sick.” Nocte put her hand to his forehead, making sure he wasn’t too warm. 

“O-Oh! Yeah, I’m fine! I was just-uh-distracted by how beautiful you are tonight!” Braham’s smile grew wider, and his cheeks grew red. Oh Spirits, was he drunk?

“Are you sure? Your cheeks are red, and you’re sweating, too. You’re not drunk ALREADY, are you?” He’d promised her earlier that he wouldn’t get drunk. At least not too quickly.

“No! I’m not, I promise! I haven’t had a single ale tonight! Just...ah…” He looked away and scratched the back of his neck. “It’s...hard to explain…” Nocte continued to grow confused. Now he was acting as if he had some Tyria shattering news.

“Take your time. We’ve got all evening.” In the meantime, Nocte turned her attention to the two sylvari sitting across from them. Kynedyr seemed to be watching them, pinching the bridge of his nose at Braham’s words. While the male norn was trying to find his words, Kyn turned to Lemon.

“Lemon, my dear, have I told you how incredible you look this evening? Why I’d rob all the stars from the sky if you so asked!” As he said this, Kynedyr turned to Braham as if to say ‘this is how it’s done.’ In fact, Nocte was almost certain that that’s what he was trying to communicate to the man sitting next to her. Once she realized this, she started putting some dots together.

So Braham had been trying to flirt with her! She fought down a blush at the realization, turning her attention back to Lemon and Kyn.

“Oh, please don’t! The sky looks so pretty with all the stars up there, don’t you think?” Lemon, completely oblivious to flirting, didn’t catch on to Kynedyr’s advances. In fact, she seemed legitimately worried that he would actually steal the stars. As much as Nocte wished the two would get together already, she loved watching the two interact like this. It was always amusing.

“O-Oh, well, if you love them that much, my dear, I’ll leave them in place. How about I find you a starry necklace to adorn your neck? It’d match the stars in your eyes.” Nearly without missing a beat, Kynedyr continued his flirting. Nocte had to admit he was a master at flirting. Extremely smooth, but nowhere near as subtle as Altair. He had that to learn.

“But it might get messed up when I’m in battle! I’d feel bad if you got me a gift that ended up broken. Unless...please don’t steal a necklace for me.” Lemon gave him a look that clearly said ‘no stealing for my sake.’

“Oh, of course not! I was going to buy one for you, dear. Here, why don’t we discuss what you would like over a nice drink? Or some of that delicious fruit they have over there?”

“But we have fruit right here! Want some?” She gleefully passed him an apple, which he clearly had no idea how to take. He stared confusedly at the apple and then back to her, at a loss for words.

Nocte got an idea. She turned to Braham and mouthed ‘watch this’ to him. He nodded slightly, not sure where this was going. She turned to the two sylvari with a sly look in her eyes.

“Lemon, Kyn is trying to say you look beautiful tonight and he would like to spend some time alone with you. In a romantic sense.” At Nocte’s simple statement, Lemon started glowing bright yellow around her cheeks. It looked as if her world had imploded. Nocte turned her gaze to Kyn, whose cheeks were also glowing brightly, though his were bright red.

“W-Wait, what? I mean-how? And-” Excellent. Her plan to get Lemon to short circuit worked. Hopefully, this would speed up the progression between the two sylvari.

“She’s...she’s right, Lemon. I’m just not used to being so blunt about it.” Kynedyr turned to look at the yellow sylvari, and he was apparently trying very hard to continue to look smooth. It was hard for him to do while scratching the back of his neck and blushing brightly.

“Oh! I...uh…” Lemon was looking everywhere except at her three friends. “I...I need some time to think about this. I’ll be back later.” With that, the revenant used her skills to quickly move through the Mists and away from the others. Kynedyr looked a bit confused; he must not have been expecting that reaction.

“I apologize for being so blunt, Kyn, but there was no way she was going to understand your intentions otherwise.” Nocte felt a slight twinge of regret for stealing Kyn’s thunder, but he wasn’t used to talking with women in a non-flirty way.

“No need, I know you’re right. But what should I do now? Will she be alright?” Kynedyr looked towards where she’d disappeared to in a worried fashion. Nocte knew he cared about Lemon, as much as he loved to flirt and tease her.

“She’ll be fine, she just needs a bit of time. Give her about fifteen to thirty minutes and then go find her. I’ll even tell you where she probably is.” Nocte pointed to the dome covering the gardens. “She’s most likely up there. She likes high places like that, as I’m sure you know.”

“Makes sense. In that case…” Kynedyr rose from his seat, give the two norn a quick bow. “...I’ll excuse myself and leave you two alone for a bit. If I don’t see you before the party is over, have a good night!”

“You too, Kyn.” The two said in unison as Kyn wove through the crowd, heading towards a spot where he could easily scale the dome. Once he was out of sight, Braham turned to Nocte.

“Was that really a good idea? Will they be okay?”

“They’ll be fine. They just needed a little push in the right direction. I’ve been getting sick of the lovesick glances they’d shoot towards each other for the last few months; it was like Vesper and Altair all over again.” Nocte was NOT about to sit through years of mutual pining between guildmates again.

“That’s...fair, actually.” Braham scratched the back of his neck and looked around awkwardly. “So uh...now what?” Nocte glanced around the area, also unsure of what to do.

“Not sure. I’ve eaten and had a drink already. This is...a little different from moots, isn’t it?”

“It really is. Uh, actually…” Braham was refusing to meet her eyes.

“Yes?”

“Would you...uh…” He took a breath and finally looked at her. “Would you like to dance with me?”

Nocte felt her face growing red. She wasn’t expecting that.

“O-Oh, uh…” Thinking about it, she wouldn’t mind it. She enjoyed dancing, surprisingly. 

And she knew she’d enjoy dancing with Braham. She wasn’t completely oblivious; she knew she had a thing for him, she just wasn’t used to experiencing feelings like that. She smiled at him.

“Sure, Braham. I’d love to.”

Braham started beaming, and stood from his seat, offering his hand to Nocte. She placed her hand in his, fighting the heat rising to her face, and stood with his help. As they walked hand in hand to the dance floor, Nocte had a thought.

“Braham, do you know how to dance like this?”

“I-uh...no. I was just kinda hoping I’d catch on...”

“You will, it’s not too hard. But you’d better let me lead at first. I can show you how that way.”

“R-Right.” When the two made it to the dance floor, Nocte took the lead and patiently showed Braham the basics of this type of dancing. Braham was surprisingly quick to catch on; he only misstepped a few times before he was dancing smoothly with her. She had to admit, this was nice. She liked the feeling of their hands clasped, and dancing together. She’d be alright with doing this more often.

“Hey, Nocte, can I try leading?” He looked at her excitedly. “I think I can do it now.”

“Sure.” The two switched positions and then Braham was leading the dance. He still stumbled a couple of times, but soon he was dancing her around confidently. This was even nicer than before since his arm was around her. She could definitely get used to this. 

“Hey, I know I said it earlier, but you really do look beautiful tonight.” He looked at her fondly before blushing and glancing away. “I-I mean, you always look beautiful, it’s just, ah...more prominent? I mean-”

“Braham.” Nocte got his attention again, preventing him from rambling too much. “I understand. I appreciate the compliment. You look very handsome, yourself.” She smiled genuinely at him. 

“Oh, uh, thanks.” He cocked his head to the side, listening to the music. “This song is almost over. I’m...gonna try something, okay? I promise I won’t drop you.”

“Braham, what-”

Before she could inquire further, Braham moved his arms around her waist and dipped her. He kept his promise; he held her tightly to him so that she wouldn’t fall. She couldn’t stop the blush this time, though she wasn’t complaining. The two locked eyes and stayed there for a moment before Braham lifted her back up. He kept a hold on her hand, and they began to walk back to the food area.

“So, how did I do? Was that okay?” He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand.

“That was a wonderful job, Braham. You’re a quick learner. You’ll have to dance with me more often for practice.” Flustered, he looked away quickly, but not before Nocte saw his blush. She smirked to herself; sometimes she could be flirty.

“O-Oh, sure! Yeah, sure. I’d like that. I’d like that...a lot.” He turned back to her, and brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand, revealing the stars on her cheek. She let her eyes close gently for a moment; he was being very soft tonight. He reminded her of a teddy bear.

“So would I. Anyway, I’m hungry again after that. Let’s get some more food.” She led him back to the tables, looking a little more forward to the rest of the evening than she was earlier. Just a little bit, though. She still would rather be dressed in her regular clothes.

 

“Damn, so close,” Vesper said from her position behind a topiary.

“Hey, progress is progress, right?” Altair stated from behind her. The two had been watching the two norn the whole time, and they were absolutely thrilled at the progress that had occurred.

“Fair enough. Nocte will have a spring in her step when she gets back to the guild hall tonight.”

“That she will, though you will too won’t you, dear heart?” Altair knew that Vesper was having a good time. She loved the music and dancing, and spying on her friends’ romantic endeavors was only making her more excited. “I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting Nocte to be so blunt about telling Lemon how Kynedyr felt.”

“I was. She gave me shit for the longest time before we were dating, and I know she didn’t want to see that happen again with those two.” From what Altair knew, that sounded about right. Vesper knew Nocte better than he did, after all. “She probably figured that she could get it out of the way for them, and or she wanted to mess with them. She was probably right, too. Ten gold says they come back tomorrow and announce they’re dating.”

“Twenty says they announce it tonight.” Altair shot a wink her way. He’d won the bet of when everyone would guess the two of them were dating; he knew they observant enough to figure it out before a month. He’d try his luck again with this. “Anyway, who’s next? We’ve got Kori and Trahearne, Canach and Luna, I think I saw Elly over by the buffet...”

“Let’s leave Lemon and Kynedyr alone for now. As for the others…” She put a hand to her chin, before snapping her fingers. 

“Let’s get back Canach for when he spied on us that one time before we were dating. I’ll bet he and Luna are messing with people somewhere nearby!”

“I’m down, but didn’t you already get him and Lemon back already? You turned them different colors for a whole day, remember?”

“He could use a reminder. Anyway, come closer, mate, let me stealth you. We need to be sneaky for this next bit…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I made a slight mistake of calling Kyn and Lemon a couple in my other stories, but this is where they actually get together (I think, I'll have to ask my friend who owns them). So ignore all of that, this is the moment where they get together. I'll write a one shot about them later!


	3. Of Plants and Chaos

“Luna, please tell me we can go mess with Anise, next. She can’t punish me anymore, after all. I’d like some revenge.”

“She CAN punish you, and I’d prefer you not in jail.” Luna glanced over at Canach, laughter in her eyes. Since the two had gotten to the party, they’d eaten and promptly began scouting around for people to mess with. Canach was insisting on messing with Countess Anise a bit, which Luna was less than excited for. In all honesty, she was a bit afraid of Anise and the power she held within Divinity’s Reach, so she guided her escort towards other, slightly easier targets. So far, they’d made an asura think he was going crazy by switching his plates of food a few times, a norn look everywhere for his glasses which they’d placed on his brow, and swapped the jewelry of two noble women who thought that there was now paranormal activity going on within the gardens.

The two were currently looking for their next prank victim, and they were drawing a blank. Canach’s answer was still Anise, but the sylvari thief wouldn’t hear it. There had to be some other harmless prank they could pull, somewhere…

“Luna, look there. Do you see what I see?” Canach suddenly stated, taking her chin in his hand to swivel her head. He used his other hand to point to Nocte and Braham, talking near the buffet area. The two had seen them dancing earlier, to their joy.

“I do. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Maybe the two of them could give them a bit of a...push.

“Maybe, does it involve you and I bumping into them, maybe literally? Perhaps via dancing or some other means?” Canach looked at her, an eyebrow raised and his eyes glowing with mischief.

“Why yes! Yes, it does! You know me so well.” Luna returned his look of mischief, ready to give their friends a push in the right direction. “So, how exactly-”

Before the two could even begin formulating a plan, they heard joyous, yet somehow also upset, screaming coming from the direction of the buffet. Startled, they turned their heads back to see Kynedyr running by the norn, carrying Lemon on his back. Lemon was the one screaming, and she was very clearly drunk.

“Kyn! I miss my hammer! We need to find my hammer!” Luna couldn’t tell if she was happy drunk or sad drunk.

“I’m going as fast as I can, my dear!” Kynedyr responded, and indeed, he was incredibly fast, even while carrying Lemon.

As they were running, the two bumped straight into Nocte, knocking the norn off balance and nearly caused her to fall over. Before she could hit the ground, however, Braham quickly wrapped his arms around her in a panic, preventing her from falling too far. From where Luna and Canach were, it looked as if he was holding her in a very slight dip again, as they did when they danced. The two norn made eye contact, and they stayed there for a moment, blushing heavily, before Braham lifted Nocte back up, muttering an apology before looking away. The white-haired norn said a word of thanks before also looking away.

The two hidden sylvari watched the spectacle, blinked simultaneously, and turned to each other with somewhat bummed expressions.

“Well. It seems that the two have been taken care of for now. I don’t think we can top that.” Canach said. “What are the odds of that happening?”

“Higher than you think when Lemon and Kyn are involved. I thought that you liked to brag about your matchmaking skills?” Luna looked at him questioningly. Canach shrugged.

“I know when I’m beaten. And it’d be a mite difficult to beat that.” He turned back towards the two norn, who were still talking while blushing heavily. “Plus, I think they’d explode if they had more interactions than they’ve already had tonight. So, we need another target. Spot anyone interesting?” Luna thought for a moment before replying. 

“We could try to find Vesper and Altair. I wonder if we can increase their sexual tension any.” THAT’D be a fun thing to see in the morning. The commander and her second in command walking from their room, in a sickeningly good mood. Or incredibly sore, whichever comes first.

“Not sure. She’s turned me pink before, and if she caught onto what we were doing, she’d do much, much worse. I’d prefer not to have my handsome face marred by her wrath.”

“It might not be that bad. Maybe it’d be an improvement to your handsome face, Sir Choya.” Luna’s face lit up when she saw him bristle a bit at her nickname for him. She loved messing with him.

“Careful, butterfly.” Luna grimaced; he called her that a lot due to the butterflies on her normal attire and she hated it. “I’ll use my choya-like thorns to give you some scratches.”

“Then I’ll just have to use my rifle to give you a couple of holes.”

“Then I’ll just have to use my sword to-” Canach’s comment was cut short as the two overheard a conversation.

“Now you’re sure, Countess Anise, that there’ve been people going around messin’ with other folks?” The two froze. Anise was onto them!

“Oh, I’m certain. I’ve even got an idea of the culprit.” A female voice, presumably Anise, answered the question who was almost undoubtedly asked by a guard or some such. The two looked at each other. They had to think quickly or they might end up in jail without even messing with Anise. Luna's eyes darted around before locking onto Canach, having a burst of inspiration.

“Canach, quick, push me up against the wall!”

“Wait-what? Why?” Canach was slightly confused by this order. “Luna, I’m a gentleman, I can’t just-”

“You have my full permission, just do it! Quickly!” After pausing for a moment, Canach obliged, putting his hands on her upper arms and moving her backward until she hit the wall that they were near.

“Okay, now what? She may even be more likely to find us now. Unless this is your plan for getting me back for when I...accidently threw you in the water in the guild hall?” He leered at her, not sure if he’d been chosen for the next prank victim.

“I wouldn’t be that cruel. What you need to do now is act romantic with me.” At Luna’s words, the realization dawned on Canach, and he quickly got into character. He moved even closer, using a hand to cup her cheek.

“Luna, my butterfly, have I mentioned how radiant you look tonight? The shining lights here don’t hold a candle to you.” Luna nearly grimaced again at the nickname. He was very good at being flirty and smooth talking, but she knew him well enough to keep herself cool during this little act. She wrapped her arms around his neck, grinning. She was gonna enjoy this.

“Why, thank you, dear heart. You look quite handsome yourself, my sweet. Why I could just eat you up.” Luna was also a decent actress. She was willing to go as far as needed to keep them out of suspicion. 

But it seems that Canach had an idea with her words, because he was wearing a smirk that said ‘oh, you’re gonna regret saying that.’

“Could you, now? Well then,” he moved even closer to her. “I might just have to take you up on that. Your lips are very alluring right now. I might just have to...claim them.” Luna could feel his thorns on her face, and it felt like he was daring her to back out. So, he was going to egg her on, was he? Well, two could play at that game. She didn’t care if it was an act anymore; it was time to mess with Canach a bit. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, so she had to act quickly. She gave him the sassiest smirk she could muster. 

“Not if I claim yours first.” With that, she quickly moved her lips onto his, feeling him shift in surprise at the sudden contact, but just as quickly he returned her actions. He took her face in both hands now, pulling her closer and making it seem much more real. His thorns did poke her a bit, especially with her quick movements, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Honestly speaking, she could get used to-

“And what do we have here?” The two sylvari, startled, jumped apart at the new voice. The looked towards the direction of the new person and found Countess Anise, accompanied by two guards. Luna looked away, blushing furiously. She’d let Canach handle talking to Anise since he knew the Countess better. At least their blushing was real; it’d make their story more believable.

“Why, Countess! I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight, with all of the fun around here.” It took all of Luna’s self-control to not burst out laughing. She knew Canach loved messing with Anise and she never got tired of it. “I’m afraid you caught me at a bad time, though. I’m...in the middle of something, as you can see.” Canach wrapped an arm around his escort’s waist and pulled her closer, allowing her to hide her face in his chest, as if in embarrassment. 

“I can see that, blossom. I wasn’t expecting you to be so...affectionate in public.” Luna felt the Countess’ eyes on her and attempted to bury her face further into Canach’s tuxedo. Her embarrassment wasn’t a complete act; she wasn’t expecting to be kissing her escort tonight, let alone getting caught in the act.

“I think I earned it. I’ve been wanting to have a moment alone with her all evening, and I finally got that chance when you crashed the party, pun intended.” Luna could hear the smirk in his voice. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get back to what we were doing.” Canach squeezed her closer to him, trying to make the point to Anise that they wanted a moment alone. Or rather, that they were innocent of the strange events going on around the party. Anise glanced over them a moment longer, before sighing in defeat.

“Alright, then. I’ll leave you to your love. But be careful, I’ve heard there’s been some people causing mischief around the gardens. Don’t get caught in their tricks, blossom.” She turned to Luna. “I feel a bit bad for you, dear. Those thorns can’t be comfortable. Have a pleasant night, both of you.” With that, Anise and her guards left in the same direction that they came from. Canach waited a moment after they were out of sight, and then released Luna from his grasp, and turned his face towards her.

“Well, that was interesting. Good plan, Luna. It worked beautifully.” He looked back towards where Anise had disappeared to. “It’s a good thing it was just her who saw that, though that still concerns me.” 

“Hopefully she won’t tell our guildmates about it.” Luna nodded in agreement. “We’d never hear the end of it. There’s enough teasing about tensions between our friends already; the Pale Mother knows we don’t need more.”

“Agreed. Let’s not speak of it around anyone. But changing subjects…” Canach turned to her with a raised eyebrow, which Luna was immediately suspicious of. “...can we mess with Anise now?”

Luna glared at him for a moment before sighing in defeat.

“Alright, fine. But I’m not bailing you out if you get caught.” She walked past him, rubbing her cheek. “Anise wasn’t kidding about your thorns. Have you ever thought about trimming them?” He chuckled as he began to follow her.

“Why Luna, that sounds like you’d like to have my face that close more often!” Luna rolled her eyes at his antics. She should’ve expected that comment.

“Don’t get your hopes up. But play your cards right and maybe I wouldn’t mind it. Maybe.” She looked back at her escort, grinning. “So, what’s the plan? Something with illusions or making her think she’s going crazy?”

“You’re surprisingly enthusiastic about this, considering you told me you weren’t bailing me out.” Canach stroked his chin for a moment. “...But I’m leaning towards thinking she’s going crazy. I wonder if we could switch around all of the items in her house before she gets back tonight?”

“Sounds good to me. Lead the way!” With that, the two left the gardens and headed towards where Anise supposedly lived, to get a bit of payback for interrupting them.

 

Within the bushes near the retreating sylvari, two people were trying very hard not to laugh at what they had witnessed between the two.

“Did...did they just do what I think they did?” Vesper was nearly in disbelief. Was it really THAT EASY to get them to kiss?

“If you mean ‘fake being in a relationship to keep Anise out of their hair and getting caught kissing in the process,’ then yes, they did just do that.” Altair was having a very hard time trying to hold back his laughter.

“I’m...honestly speechless.”

“I’m not. I should’ve tried that with you before we were dating. I wonder if we could try that with Nocte and Braham?” Altair began stroking his chin, a shine in his eye and a grin on his face.

“We’d have to get them in a position where they would think to fake dating. Unfortunately, every instance that I can think of for that, Nocte would probably think to fight first. Plus,” Vesper looked at Altair with a deadpan expression. “If you had done that with me before we were dating, I probably would’ve exploded, let’s be honest.” 

“Fair, but it would’ve been adorable to see you react that way.” The sylvari winked at her. The commander let out an exasperated sigh.

“Of course you would think that. Anyway, who next? I’m not following those two to Anise’s house.”

“Well, there’s Kori and Trahearne, and Elly. I think I saw Caithe around here somewhere, too.”

“Let’s see...” Vesper took a moment to ponder the question before responding. “Tell you what, let’s take a break from sneaking around and go listen to Kori play some music. I’m sure something may happen. Besides, we haven’t danced yet.” Vesper shot Altair the most flirtatious smile she could muster and was highly satisfied when his cheeks glowed a bright blue.

“Oh, uh-of course. Well then, shall we?” He offered her his arm and she snaked her own arm around it, and the two headed in the direction of Kori’s melodious music.


	4. Strum on My Heartstrings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow ok this took way longer than I thought it would. Also: I'm not sure when I'll be getting the other chapters out, since one of them involves a friend's character so i'll need said friends help to write her and she's very busy. but i'll try to be quick!

The center of the gardens was overflowing with festive, upbeat music.

Kori Mineo played her harp alongside the band that was present, adding a pleasant harmony to the tune. It had been so long since she was able to play a tune this happy and actually be happy along with it. The threat of the dragons was ever present, and after Thunderhead Keep, she’d given up hope. After that, she hadn’t played her music for a week at least.

But finally, things were looking up. She could finally play her music with all of her heart in it again. Gods, this felt so good.

She looked to where people were dancing to the music. Vesper and Altair were there, with the former trying to teach the latter the particular steps of this song. Altair was a quick learner; in no time he was swinging her around the dance floor, both of them smiling and laughing heartily. Lemon and Kynedyr were there, too, with Lemon not so much dancing with Kyn as much as she was swinging him around the dance floor drunkenly. Kori was honestly worried that they’d knock something over, with the velocity that they were going. Nocte and Braham had been dancing earlier, but they hadn’t noticed the bard; they were lost in each other’s eyes, so to speak. They tried to be subtle about it, but Kori was nothing if not observant. She hadn’t seen Canach or Luna the entire evening, which was highly concerning, and Trahearne…

He was standing nearby, keeping a close eye on the folks around Kori. He’d offered to step in if any more unruly characters tried to harass the poor bard, so he was trying to remain in sight to discourage any shady characters from coming too close. And though he kept scanning the area periodically to spot any potential threats to his friend, it seemed like he was enjoying Kori’s music along with the rest of the guests. She almost thought she saw him looking directly at her a few times, but this was most likely to make sure no one strange had gotten too close. As the last few notes of the song rang out, the former Pact Marshal approached her, a grin on his face.

“I’d forgotten how lovely your music is, Kori. I haven’t heard you play since what happened at Thunderhead Peaks.” The bard was glad that he was happy. It’d been a while since she’d seen him in such a good mood; after the events at Thunderhead, neither had been in high spirits. Their victory at Dragonfall had raised Tyria’s spirits, and thankfully that included the two of them as well.

“It has been a while, hasn’t it? I finally feel like I can put my whole heart into my songs again.” She took a deep breath, loving how the night air felt in her lungs. “I was too crushed to play after the failed assault. It feels good to have my passion back.”

“I can tell. It’s made a difference in your music. But you’ve been playing nearly nonstop since the ball began, have you not? You need to take a break.” Kori almost insisted she was fine, but Trahearne put a finger over her lips to silence her protests. “Now now, I know you. You’re very clearly tired, whether you realize it or not. How about I go get us some drinks and we can sit and talk for a while?” Once again she nearly protested, but at the mention of being tired her legs began to feel much heavier than before. She sighed and shook her head in defeat before looking up at him and smiling.

“Sure, I’d like that.”

Trahearne smiled back and led her to an area somewhat near the refreshments. Kori sat down on the concrete around one of the topiary displays while Trahearne went to go get the two of them some punch. The moment she sat down the bard could almost feel her legs sighing in relief. She hadn’t realized how tired she was; she assumed the energetic atmosphere of the party was partially to blame for that. She leaned back on her hands, closing her eyes and breathing in the chilly night air. It felt so lovely, so wonderful to feel hopeful again, after everything that had-

“Why, hello there, missy!” Kori looked up to see a man who looked to be a bit younger than her smirking at her. She’d noticed him watching her as she played through the evening. “I couldn’t help but notice you playing all of those lovely songs tonight! Fancy yourself a bard, do you?”

Oh boy, that was a tone-setter. This was gonna be one of those conversations, wasn’t it?

“Yes, I do.” She made sure to make her statement firmly but politely, smiling as she said it. “I’ve been involved in music all of my life, and was taught by many different and skilled musicians.” She knew he was probably going to fly into a one-sided conversation about his musical experience, but she wanted to make herself heard at the very least.

“That much is obvious! You’re clearly very skilled in musical performance! Incidentally…” As expected, the man launched into his own musical endeavors with excruciating detail. Kori tried to contribute a couple of times, but she was never able to get a word in edgewise. Trahearne could not come back soon enough. She finally saw him on his way back out of the corner of her eye, but the man still hadn’t finished his epic tale of trials and tunes.

“...and that’s how I learned to play the hurdy-gurdy behind my back while blindfolded. It’s still a work in progress, but I could give you some…” the man leaned in, with a look that Kori strongly disliked in his eyes, “...private lessons, if you’d like to learn.”

Oh, absolutely not. Kori had no mind to let this man’s perverted whims ruin her night.

“I’m sorry, good sir, but I’m afraid I must decline. I’ve got enough on my plate as is.” That wasn’t even a lie. The guilds needed her help quite often, so she only had time to practice her music with others very rarely. The man looked perturbed at her answer, but before he could insist, Trahearne finally returned.

“I’m sorry for my late return, friend, there was a line for some reason.” He passed Kori a glass of punch, looking to the man with a slightly miffed look in his eye before turning back to the bard. “I’m not interrupting something, am I?” Kori quickly gave him a look that said ‘yes but please interrupt this person’ before the unwelcome guest scoffed and looked at the sylvari with menacing eyes. Or what he allegedly thought was a menacing look; to Kori, he just looked like he was in pain.

“Why yes, sir, you are. I was just inviting this lovely lady to have some private musical tutoring with me. If you’d excuse us..?” He glared at the necromancer, apparently trying to intimidate him into leaving. It went poorly; Trahearne simply glared back, and he was much more intimidating.

“Oh really? It sounded like my friend here declined your offer. I certainly hope you aren’t trying to force her into anything, or I’d have to take some drastic measures.” The man withered under Trahearne’s glare, but it looked as if he’d persist. The sylvari made as if to summon one of his minions, but Kori decided to stop him. She had a rather fun idea of how to deal with him. She, unbeknownst to the unassuming creeper, conjured an illusion on his back to look like Lemon’s hammer and then turned in the direction of where Lemon was talking to Kynedyr.

“Hey Lemon! This guy found your hammer! He was talking about taking it, so you may wanna catch him quick!” Before the very drunk Lemon could fully process what the bard had yelled, she turned to the man and simply said, “Run now if you want to live.”

In the distance, Lemon had finally processed what Kori had said and began drunkenly raving, making a beeline towards their unwelcome guest. The man began panicking and ran in the opposite direction of the revenant, trying hard not to scream. As Lemon ran past Trahearne and Kori, Kynedyr followed after her, yelling a quick apology while also saying how much he loved her.

At this point, Trahearne was trying to stop his giggles, and doing a very poor job of it. Kori, on the other hand, made no effort to hide her mirth, as she was clutching her stomach and lying on her side. She lifted her glasses to wipe a tear from her eye before sitting back up, grabbing her punch and looking back at Trahearne.

“I’m glad you came back when you did. I didn’t want any ‘private lessons’ from that guy.” She took a sip of her drink and let out a sigh. “Why do creeps like that think they're hot shit?” Trahearne looked at her with slight shock. His surprise wasn’t unwarranted, as she rarely swore like that. He looked back towards where the man had disappeared, taking a drink from his own punch.

“If I could answer that, I’d try to fix the problem. Alas, maybe one day. But on another topic,” he turned back to her, concern written on his face. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you. I’ve dealt with stuff like that a lot, so it’s not new to me, as sad as that is.” She took another drink, longer this time, trying to wipe that man’s face from her mind. 

“It shouldn’t happen, regardless.” He sat down next to her, drinking more from his glass. “But you don’t have to worry while I’m around. I’ll keep you safe.”

Kori didn’t tell him how much that made her heart flutter.

“I appreciate it, more than you’ll ever know.” She smiled up at him before finishing her punch and placing the glass beside her. “But, in all honesty, I think I may head back to where we’re staying for the night. I’m a bit tired out from playing, and I really don’t want to be around when Lemon realizes I tricked her.”

“That may not be a bad idea, actually.” Trahearne looked off to where the near-feral sylvari disappeared to. “I’ll take care of the glasses and be right behind you. I’ll meet you back at the house, alright?” He gave her a sweet smile, taking her glass and walking back towards the buffet to return them. Kori watched him go, and as she got up to leave, she placed a hand over her heart. Man, she had it bad.

She made her way out of the gardens, making sure not to draw any unwanted attention, and down to the streets of Divinity’s Reach. Most folks were either at the celebration or lounging in their homes, so the half-lit roads were mostly empty. Normally, she’d feel apprehensive about being alone on the streets, especially after her encounters tonight.

But, for some reason, she didn’t feel that way now. Maybe it was spending the evening with Trahearne nearby or maybe the adrenaline leftover after she left the party behind, but she just felt...happy.

Slowly, tentatively almost, Kori began to dance. She couldn’t help herself. It was nothing awe-inspiring, just simple leaps and twirls with a few bits of fancy footwork in between. But it felt so good to do. The way her dancing dress twirled around her as she spun and the feeling of the starlight on her skin made her feel magical.

She had landed from another leap when she heard a chuckle from behind her. She froze, embarrassed that someone had caught her when she thought she was alone. She slowly turned around and saw that, to her horror, it was Trahearne who had found her. He didn’t say anything immediately; he just smiled at her, which made her even more embarrassed.

“Oh, Trahearne! How, uh...how much of that did you see?” She folded her hands in front of her chest, ready to cover the growing blush on her face.

“I’m afraid I saw all of it.” Kori turned towards a lamp post and hid her face. This was just her luck. “There’s no need to hide, Kori. You know I won’t tell anyone.”

“I know you won’t, I’m just embarrassed that someone caught me dancing. I thought I was alone out here.” She heard Trahearne laugh gently again, and then there were footsteps walking towards her. She turned her face slightly and saw that he’d walked over to her. Once he reached her he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer in a one-armed hug.

“It’s quite alright. Here, let’s walk back to our accommodations. At least now you’ll have a partner if you choose to dance again.” Kori pushed him slightly at his jest, to which he laughed again and offered his arm. She snaked her arm around his and the two began their walk back to where they were staying. It was still a bit of a walk, and the bard was happy for the company.

She was taken by surprise when Trahearne started dancing with her around the streets.

She wasn’t complaining, mind, but it wasn’t something she expected. She’d began teaching him to dance during his recovery after Mordremoth, and he was a wonderful dancer, but she knew he was still self-conscious about his footwork. Once again, it wasn’t professional ballet by any means, but her heart was so happy and full as he took her hand and led her into an underarm twirl. She felt her cheeks grow pink as well when he pulled her into his chest after said twirl.

Too soon for Kori’s liking, they arrived at the house the guild had rented to stay at for the ball. The two unlocked the door and entered, ready for bed after all that they’d encountered that evening. As they walked to Kori’s room (she was fairly certain he was trying to be a gentleman and all), she felt his hand slide down from where it was on her arm. She tried not to gasp as she felt his hand wrap around hers. Before she had time to even contemplate why he did that, the two were standing outside of her door. Without letting go of her hand, he turned to face her, a small smile present on his face.  
“Here you are, friend. Thank you for allowing me to accompany you this evening.” He squeezed her hand gently before pulling her into a hug. Kori let her eyes flutter shut and rested her head on his shoulder, or at least what she could reach. Trahearne was tall for a sylvari, and she barely reached the upper part of his chest. Nevertheless, she rested her head where she could reach and returned the gesture. Trahearne rested his head on hers, and Kori just about exploded. The bard hoped that the two of them could have more moments like this now, with the immediate crisis averted.

“Thank you for keeping all of those creeps away from me. I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.” She pulled her head back slightly to look at him, though she struggled to meet his gaze. She didn’t want him to see how red her face was. Gathering what courage she could muster, she leaned up on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” She was highly satisfied when he started glowing purple across his cheeks.

“Oh-uh, y-yes, of course. I’ll see you bright and early so we can head back to the guild hall.” Trying, and failing, to regain his composure, Trahearne bowed to her. “Goodnight, Kori.”

“Goodnight, Trahearne.” Kori smiled at him as he walked off to his room before entering her own and locking the door. She collapsed onto her bed while still in her dress, trying desperately to get her thoughts under control.

She really had it bad, and it was about to drive her nuts.

 

“For the last time, Lemon, I don’t know why that guy didn’t have your hammer!” Vesper told the very drunk Lemon. The sylvari had come to pester the commander after she found out that the sleazy man didn’t have her hammer after all.

“But Vesper! Kori said he did and then it looked like he did and then I chased him and caught him and he didn’t! You know Kori better than I do! Don’t you know what happened?” The aforementioned sylvari was nearly sobbing into her drink, which she really didn’t need to be having with how drunk she already was. Vesper looked over to where Altair was trying very hard not to burst into laughter. She’d have to remember to get him back for not helping her later.

“Lemon, I don’t know. Maybe Kori thought it was your hammer and then it wasn’t. Or maybe she was a bit drunk and seeing things.” She knew that wasn’t true. She’d seen Trahearne and that sleaze-bag about to throw down, and simply decided to wait a moment to see if anything interesting would happen. That also meant that Vesper saw Kori conjure the illusory hammer, but she wasn’t about to tell Lemon that.

“I want my hammer…” Lemon drunkenly mumbled to herself before walking off towards Kynedyr. That poor boy was dealing with way too much tonight.

And speaking of boys, Vesper looked to her sylvari partner. He was eyeing her apologetically as he got his giggles under control.

“Are you good, darlin’? Is your giggle fit almost over?” She crossed her arms and tried to look mad. She wasn’t actually angry with him, of course, but she’d hoped he would help with Lemon.

“Y-Yes, dear heart, I’m fine!” He finally composed himself and straightened up, wiping a tear from his eye. “That was the best thing I’ve seen all night, besides you of course. Did you see how Lemon nearly toppled all of those tables?”

“Aye, I did. She certainly made a mess.” The commander turned her eyes to where she’d run across a few tables in her pursuit of the man. There wasn’t too much damage, thankfully, but she’d definitely scared a few of the party goers. Vesper looked back towards her boyfriend. “And why didn’t you help me pacify her when she was pestering me? I should push you off the bed tonight for that crime.”

“As if you could, dear heart.” He looked around quickly, probably making sure no one could see them in this secluded area. Once he’d confirmed that they were indeed alone, he turned back to her and quickly grabbed her wrists while pushing her up against a pillar, holding her arms beside her head and getting as close to her as possible. “You and I both know that all I’d have to do is pin you on the bed and you’ll not be able to move. And you wouldn’t even complain about it either.” He grinned at her before bending his head to kiss her on the side of the neck. She almost shuddered at that. Damn it, he knew her weaknesses way too well.

“I hate that you’re right. On another note,” Vesper said, trying to direct the conversation away from her alleged weaknesses, “What do you suppose happened to Kori and Trahearne after they left? I hope they made it back alright.”

“With any luck, they started making out and they’ll be officially dating soon.” He pulled his head back to look at her. “But back to our previous note, I’d like to take a quick break from our spy work.”

“Oh?” She didn’t mind that, but she wondered why.  
“Well, we’ve been so busy watching the others that we’ve barely had time to ourselves. And if I might be a bit selfish…” He leaned in towards her face, lips centimeters from hers. “...I’d like you all to myself for a few moments if you’d allow it.” His voice was lower and almost huskier now. Vesper shivered in anticipation.

“I suppose our very important work can wait for a few minutes…” She whispered, signaling to Altair that it was okay to lock his lips with hers passionately. The rest of their friends could wait a few measly minutes.


End file.
